The Year of the Nail (2007)

Noted director Alfonso Cuaron's son Jonas helmed this drama, which embodies one of the most unusual features to emerge on the international scene in quite some time. An experimental work overtly influenced by Chris Marker's La jet (C)e, it relies exclusively on a series of still photographs to establish its narrative trajectory, and thus avoids the moving image altogether. As the work opens, a title reads, "From 2004-5 I took photos of everything around me. At the end of that year, I ordered the images in such a way that they suggested the following narrative to me." Strategically building on this idea, the film then uses snapshots to weave the tale of an on-again, off-again cross-cultural romance between an American college student named Molly (Eireann Harper) and a 14-year-old Mexican boy called Diego (Diego Catao). As the tale opens, Molly is spending the summer in Mexico City and taking a class at a language school, while on the rebound from a recent relationship. When she goes sightseeing with her friend Katie (Katie Hegarty), her path soon intersects with that of Diego, a young man who harbors an obsessive interest in his female cousin. He's also extremely concerned about his terminally grandfather (Salvador Elizondo). The two adolescents sense an immediate connection, strong enough that when Molly returns home and lapses into an affair with a professor; she cannot quite forget Diego. Thousands of miles separate the couple, but two possibilities for a reunion linger - Molly's intention to return to Mexico City and Diego's plan to visit Molly in the Big Apple. Both experiences will provide unforgettable memories - but will the relationship survive the ravages of time and distance? ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi